Filmmaker Danny Boyle borrowed ideas from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein when drawing up plans for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London this summer.

The Slumdog Millionaire director signed on to orchestrate the sporting spectacular's kick-off event in July and he admits the task of creating a jaw-dropping show to be viewed by millions of people hasn't been easy.

He tells Vogue: "It's a challenge, of course, because it can easily be just a cold spectacle - awe-inspiring but not necessarily of the heart - and we want the ceremony to have a visceral effect on the people, for it to be a collective experience. Stirring emotion is hard in a stadium."

But the Oscar winner reveals he found inspiration in an unlikely place - Frankenstein, which fuses elements of romanticism and the creation of life.

He adds, "(There is) quite a lot of Frankenstein in the show. I mean, we don't reanimate dead creatures, but we did use Frankenstein as a dry run for a lot of ideas for this."

And if Boyle's vision is realised, he says the the venue will look "more like a cauldron, with all the people hovering over and around you".

The filmmaker has had a lot of experience with the theme - he directed a production of Frankenstein for the National Theatre in England last year.
PHOTOS: Becks and the Olympic Flame...

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Former England football captain David Beckham, right, and London Mayor Boris Johnson attend a handover for the Olympic flame at Panathenaean stadium in Athens.

Former England football captain David Beckham center and London Mayor Boris Johnson, right, enter the Panathenaean stadium in Athens.

Britain's Princess Anne, right, takes the torch with the Olympic flame from President of the Greek Olympic Committee Spyros Kapralos during a ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens.

An unidentified torchbearer, left, passes the flame to Rena Sotiriadou during the Olympic flame relay for the 2012 London Olympics, in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens.

Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a high priestess, lights the torch at a ceremony in Panathinean stadium in Athens.

A torchbearer runs with the Olympic flame during a ceremony at Panathenaean stadium in Athens.

Handout photo issued by LOCOG of Lord Coe (centre) during a visit to the Leontios School in Athens, Greece, which has a link with Clapham Girls Academy in London, who are part of the London 2012 Get Set Network.

The last torchbearers, olympic gold medalists , Greek weightlifting athlete Pyrros Dimas (R) and Chinese gymnastics athlete, Liu Ning hold the torch with the olympic flame during the handover ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens on May 17, 2012. The Olympic torch handover ceremony was held at the Panathenaic Stadium with Greece giving the flame to British officials ahead of the London 2012 Games. AFP PHOTO / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS (Photo credit should read ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/GettyImages)

The last torch bearers, Olympic gold medalists, Greek weightlifting athlete Pyrros Dimas and Chinese gymnastics athlete, Liu Ning (L) arrive with the Olympic flame to the stadium during the handover ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens on May 17, 2012. AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages)

Actress Ino Menegaki at the role of the high priestess holds the torch with the flame during the handover ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens on May 17, 2012. AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages)

President of the Greek olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos escorts the Princess Anne of Britain who holds the Olympic Flame, during the handover ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens on May 17, 2012. AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages)

Children carry the Greek and British flags during a handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame at Panathenaean stadium in Athens, Thursday, May 17, 2012. The torch begins its 70-day journey to arrive at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the Greek capital, to cover about 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) on its progress over many parts of England to start the games. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Actresses dressed as ancient Greek priestesses perform a ritual dance during a handover ceremony for the Olympic flame at Panathenaean stadium in Athens, Thursday, May 17, 2012. The torch begins its 70-day journey to arrive at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the Greek capital, to cover about 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) on its progress over many parts of England to start the games. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Pigeons released as a symbol of peace, fly over the Olympic Flame, during a handover ceremony for the Olympic flame at Panathenaean stadium in Athens, Thursday, May 17, 2012. The torch begins its 70-day journey to arrive at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the Greek capital, to cover about 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) on its progress over many parts of England to start the games. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Former England football captain David Beckham waves to spectators on Thursday, May 17, 2012, in the Panathenaean stadium in Athens, at a handover for the Olympic flame that will burn at the 2012 Summer Games in London. The torch begins its 70-day journey to arrive at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the Greek capital, to cover about 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) on its progress over many parts of England to start the games. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Former England football captain David Beckham center and London Mayor Boris Johnson, right, enter the Panathenaean stadium in Athens, on Thursday, May 17, 2012, at a handover for the Olympic flame that will burn at the 2012 Summer Games in London. The torch begins its 70-day journey to arrive at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the Greek capital, to cover about 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) on its progress over many parts of England to start the games. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)